Key to Wisconsin Lycopodiaceae

Author: Robert W. Freckmann

• 1a.Branchlets flattened, concave on the lower side, or almost square in cross-section; leaves scalelike, in 4 ranks, appressed and fused to the branch, with a free tip less than 3 mm long Diphasiastrum

• 1b.Branchlets terete; leaves linear or lanceolate, attached at base, ascending, spreading, or reflexed, not fused to branches (except on peduncle below cone in some species). 2

• 2a.Sporangia borne in the axils of lanceolate to oblanceolate leaves, usually in zones below the top of the stem; gemmae (detachable buds) often in the axils of upper leaves; long horizontal stems absent, the upright stems clustered Huperzia

• 2b.Sporangia borne in strobili (cones) at top of some stems; gemmae not produced; long horizontal stems or rhizomes present, the upright stems or branches not clustered 3

• 3a.Sporophylls (leaves subtending sporangia in the cone) green and similar to the sterile leaves, except longer, making the cone wider than the stem; sterile branches creeping or arching, usually with all leaves curving upward Lycopodiella

• 3b.Sporophylls scalelike, usually turning yellow or brown, shorter than the sterile leaves, making the cone narrower than the stem; sterile branches erect to spreading 4

• 4a.Apex of leaves with a soft hair-like tip 1--4 mm long; cones elevated on peduncles (slender stalks with small leaves) Lycopodium

• 4b.Leaves tapering to a firm tip; cones borne at the top of ordinary leafy stems 5

• 5a.Erect stems unbranched or forking once, slightly narrower at points marking segments of annual growth; horizontal stems long, green, and leafy; cones solitary at top of erect stems Spinulum

• 5b.Erect stems branching repeatedly, arising from a yellowish rhizome; cones 1--7 Dendrolycopodium